Midway down the mountain we encountered a huge, awe-inspiring fortress, which Elaun explained was fortified by Muslims after they held the crusaders off at the end of the first crusade. It was amazing to stumble upon such an amazing piece of history!
Shorashim Bus 551 jumped right into the action in Israel on day one.
We went to a candle museum and Oh My Goodness I took so many pictures and now I want to learn to make candles. :) The rafting trip we took in the afternoon was super fun! We floated down the perfect-temperature river in the perfect-temperature shade, looking at pretty birds and trying not to run into the plants on either bank. After that, we went to an olive oil factory!
On day three, a family was made as we laughed and shared beautiful experiences. We all had a undeniable connection that was clearly evident by day three in Israel.
Our first stop on June 11th was at Pluristem, a biotech company in Haifa that manufactures its own brand of modified placental cells for use in a wide variety of therapies. Pluristems's patented PLX cells are currently in different stages of clinical trials for indications ranging from myocardial infarctions to preeclampsia to Buerger's disease, an FDA designated orphan illness. Ohad Karnieli, Pluristem's Vice President of Technology, gave us a thorough explanation of his company's goals, process, and business model and easily fielded our many questions, both technical and otherwise.